Monthly Archives: June 2015

Love it or not it’s been hot, and it’s only going to get hotter! I don’t think we’ve ever seen weather this warm, for so long, this early in the season. I certainly don’t remember anything like this. If the forecasts hold, things are shaping up to make for a very interesting situation heading into the holiday weekend.

As I mentioned last week, we typically have considerably less pool usage on the 4th of July when it falls on the weekend. Given the current forecast I’m not so sure that’s going to happen this time around. As I mentioned last week, the games will not be happening this year. And that fun float thing that we were planning, it may have to be tabled or modified as well. It really depends on just how many swimmers we have show up. So it may be touch and go, and it might have to come down to a very last minute yea or nay. I will post updated info on this as the picture becomes more clear.

I should probably touch base about parties and guests now too. While we don’t schedule parties on the holiday anyway, at this point I will not be scheduling any more parties on Friday or Sunday either. As far as guests go, I think if everyone exercises a bit of restraint in not inviting all of their friends/neighbors down for a swim things should be okay. I will keep you posted if I think it merits more restrictive action. I do want to extend a thank you for and from many of your fellow pool members. The feedback that I receive about these party/guest limitations is for the most part extremely understanding and supportive.

Also, in anticipation of the continued hot weather I am working on keeping the pool open a tad longer in the evenings later in the week. I will post updates on Facebook and on the club website as I get those figured out.

Now how about that pool? It feels too cold. It feels too warm. As you can imagine trying to nail down a pool temp that works for everyone is like a dog chasing its tail. What works for one, doesn’t for another, and what feels great in the afternoon doesn’t in the morning. Of course some of this depends on what you are doing in the pool too.

The pool’s normal operating temperature is 84 degrees. On a typical day, 83 will feel a tad cold, and 85 a tad warm. Now if I leave the pool temp set at the normal 84 on extremely hot days, the pool will end up way too warm, pushing it into the upper 80’s. A better target to shoot for is somewhere between 80 – 82. This gives us capacity to take care of the solar gain. It’s an orchestrated combination of looking at the current and forecasted weather and trying to not put any more heat into the pool, while also letting enough heat out of the pool overnight. It’s not always easy to get 200,000 gallons of water to cooperate though. Occasionally there are hiccups along the way, like for example when the boiler shut down last Tuesday night making that early morning lap swim Wednesday extra refreshing!

Sunday, July 5th

This week will be the first week of full time operations and we have two home meets and the swim team overnighter on the agenda. Oh, tie dye day and picture day too. My goodness, one thing for sure is the kids will sure be tired by the time I send out next week’s email.

Thank you for signing in when you come in to use the club! Thus far we’ve had 3904 sign-ins this year, that’s 30% of our 2014 total usage. I think at this point I’ve been able to get everyone’s name that needed tweaking, tweaked. I do know a few of our Seniors still aren’t marking down their swims on their cards. While I know it’s cumbersome, the guard at the front desk will be happy to assist. Please just let them know you need to mark your card. Thank you!

When looking at this sign-in data it’s really surprising how consistent the numbers have been. This has held true from the days of the pre-computer, paper sign-in sheets too. An interesting anomaly did surface last year though; we had just about 1,100 less sign-ins from the year previous, and it was a fantastic summer too. It will be interesting to see where we land this year with the California-like weather we’ve been having.

I stand corrected! Now that your pool dues is 100% taxable the following that was emailed in the latest this week at WW is NOT true: “…the state collects sales tax on each and every sign-in…” Now I don’t want to go and turn this into an op-ed piece, so I will just wrap this up by saying that the state collects sales tax on each and every sign-in and that’s why we have you sign-in, but also not sign-in at times too.

On a completely different note, I mentioned recycling, yard waste, and trash at the beginning of the season. Our early season efforts have been a little lackluster and it looks like we still have a long way to go with regard to putting things where they need to be put. Please take a second longer and separate things out. Trust me, it’s much more pleasant than the staff or myself tackling it later.

Lost and found? Come and get it! As we head into swim meet season our limited capacity will not be able to contain it all. I would highly suggest that you come soon if you know you’ve lost something as it will only become more difficult to reunite with whatever it is you’ve lost as we move forward.

Please note that within this email I’m only briefly touching base here on swim team things. Those of you who are signed up for the swim team emails on team unify should have received more comprehensive information about all the goings on with swim team this week early on Sunday. If you did not, please contact them through the club’s team unify web site.

At least at this point, looking toward next weekend the forecast is calling for some pretty hot weather headed our way. I’m thinking with all the exhausted kids from the overnighter that pool overcrowding should not be an issue, however I thought I would mention it now as it may again require a little bit of restraint when bringing in guests.

Thank you for taking those showers! Ladies I’ve heard that you like the new curtains. More lounge chairs have arrived, and more are on the way.

on the horizon

Just so you are aware, the 4th of July will look a little different at the pool this year. Late morning lap swim will still be happening from 10am-Noon, but instead of the games galore in the afternoon we are going to instead have a Fun 4th Float opportunity from 1-4pm, with perhaps a game thrown in here and there. I wanted to give this a try for a couple of reasons, first, typically when the 4th falls on a weekend we haven’t seen nearly as many pool users as we do when it falls within the week. Also, from a staffing perspective, running games is a pretty expensive proposition and with minimum wage increases, I am looking for ways of doing things with less staffing. So we’ll see how it goes. Not to worry, the games will be happening on Labor Day.

Mark your calendar! Coming up on July the 11th, we will be having the CAKE BAKE. This year’s theme: Mythology

don’t forget

Family Swim runs weekdays from 5:30-7:00pm. This is a quieter time at the club, perfect for families with small children. Keep in mind that those swimmers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult family member during the Family Swim time.

Teen Swim is daily after 7pm. Teen members can bring in two guests for only $2 per guest. These do not count against the guest allotment.

Adult Team 8-9pm Mondays and Wednesdays.

Aerobics starts Monday, June 22nd. The class will run M, W, F 12-12:45 and T, Th 8-8:45am. Class fee for members is $4.00/class or $40 for a season pass.

wifiStill a work in progress… I should have a much clearer picture mid-week.

Sunday, June 28th

What a fantastic first month of the season! The prediction was for warmer and dryer conditions again this year but I never imagined that we’d be jumping right into summer so soon. It has certainly made the end of the school year interesting. Something about the temp hitting 80+ and all of a sudden no one is thinking about school anymore. I’ll be honest, I am looking forward to wrapping up my school year as much as the kids are. This week Chris Matsumoto and I both make the transition from our school to pool personas, so there’s a good bet you’ll be seeing more of the both of us around.

Things also start ramping up at the pool this week as we say goodbye to the spring school hours schedule and jump into full-time summer operations mid-week. Yes that means the pool will be open most days until 9pm!

The swim team has a bunch of stuff going on. There’s the last evening practice on Monday, fun night Tuesday, the first morning practice on Wednesday, and time trials and a relay meet on Saturday. Fun stuff! Please note that because of the relay meet the pool will open late at 1pm on Saturday.

While the late opening on Saturday may be a bummer for some, the pool will stay open late that day as well, as we have an upper deck Adult Party on tap from 7-10pm along with a Kid Fun Float from 7-9:30pm. Yes kids this means you can bring those floaty boat, air filled, fun toys! FYI adults, the lap lanes will not be open after 7pm.

Dates to remember

Last call for our internship program, due date 6/15, that’s Monday! We currently only have two people signed up and that’s not enough to run the program. If you are on the fence or have questions, contact Chris Matsumoto. Details about the program can be found at this link: http://wp.me/a5MiU8-4a

Family Swim will begin this week on Wednesday, and then run weekdays from 5:30-7:00pm. This is a quieter time at the club, perfect for families with small children. Keep in mind that those swimmers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult family member during the Family Swim time.

Teen Swim also begins on Wednesday. Teen Swim is daily from 7pm to close, Teen members can bring in two guests for only $2 per guest. These do not count agains the guest allotment.

Adult Team also starts on Wednesday and will run 8-9pm Mondays and Wednesdays.

A start date for Water Aerobics has been set! Mark your calendars for next Monday, June 22nd. The class will run M, W, F 12-12:45 and T, Th 8-8:45am. Class fee for members is $4.00/class or $40 for a season pass.

WiFi I have now been working with Century Link since April 22nd, and like it was with Comcast during the 8 months prior to that, I pretty much have experienced the lousiest customer service on the planet. I spent a couple of hours on the phone last Monday trying to sort things out and I’ve had follow ups with people that even tell me this is all nuts too! At this point I’m sorry I just don’t have any timeline. Let’s just hope whomever ends up being our internet provider that their actual connection speed is faster and more reliable than their install has been.

Curtains and Chairs The new and hopefully improved shower curtains have finally shipped and should be installed early this week. New lounge chairs should have also arrived this past weekend but I received a call Sunday morning that several had been damaged so an entire new shipment has been re-scheduled and they should be about a week out, or so I was told.

Last Call for the directory cover! Hey kids your could get your artwork on the soon to be published WW pool directory! All you need to do is to take a regular sized piece of paper and draw something poolish. A black line drawing that can be photo copied would be best. Submit your drawing to the office soon or I’m going to have to do all the artwork myself. If you decide to turn something in, don’t forget your name and age on the back.

Sunday, June 21st

What a fabulous weekend! Well it did not get crowded this past Saturday, but Sunday like I thought, started busy from the get go and remained so throughout the day. Thank you for your cooperation and consideration with the limited guest request, I do think it made a significant difference.

Just a friendly reminder to the boys, and this probably holds true for the girls as well, the benches in the locker rooms are for sitting on, not storing your gear. If the staff finds things on the bench during their locker room checks you may find it to have been moved, to a hook, or into a locker. Your fellow pool members will appreciate your compliance with this.

Street Parking

Please be considerate of our neighbors. When you park on the street please remember to obey all parking regulations regarding intersections, driveways and fire hydrants. Our nearest of neighbors don’t want to paint their curbs and to be honest they shouldn’t have too. Per their request, I have also included this pdf regarding parking.

Dates to remember

We will be offering our internship program again this year. Sign up by June 15th. Details about the program can be found at this link: http://wp.me/a5MiU8-4a

Family Swim will begin on Wednesday, June 17th and run Monday- Friday from 5:30-7:00pm. This is a quieter time at the club, perfect for families with small children. Keep in mind that those swimmers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult family member during the Family Swim time.

Teen Swim also begins on the 17th. Teen swim is daily from 7pm to close, Teen members can bring in two guests for only $2 per guest. These do not count against the guest allotment.

Adult Team also starts on the 17th and will run 8-9pm Mondays and Wednesdays.

A start date for Water Aerobics has been set! Mark your calendars for Monday, June 22nd. The class will run M, W, F 12-12:45 and T, Th 8-8:45am. Class fee for members is $4.00/class or $40 for a season pass.

Tuesday, June 9th

Wednesday, June 10th

Thursday, June 11th

Early Morning Lap Swim 6-7am

Hrs: 3:30-7pm

evening practice

Friday, June 12th

Early Morning Lap Swim 6-7am

Hrs: 3:30-8pm

Saturday, June 13th

Hrs: 12-8

Sunday, June 14th

Hrs: 12-8

WEDGWOOD POOL CODE OF CONDUCTPatrons at Wedgwood Swim Pool are expected to behave in a manner which* shows respect for other patrons and staff,
* shows respect and care for property,
* is non-violent and non-threatening,
* maintains the safety of themselves, other patrons, and the staff and
* allows the staff to perform their duties and maintain a safe environment.The pool managers have the authority to penalize patrons who willfully
violate this code. Penalties may include warnings or temporary suspension
of pool privileges. Serious or repeated violations may result in
consideration by the pool Board for longer-term suspension of pool
privileges or termination of membership (Bylaws sections 5.7 and 5.8).

It looks like we have a fantastic weekend in store for us. Things should certainly be hopping at the pool. In fact, if history is any indication, we will likely see some pretty big crowds on both days, but Sunday is my bet to be the biggie, perhaps potentially one of the biggest days of this 2015 season. Be prepared if you come late as an empty lounge chair or an umbrella will likely be hard to find. In anticipation, I have already scheduled some extra guard coverage for both days, and at this time, we are not scheduling any more parties as well.

One very interesting thing about these early season weekends is that when looking at the numbers, just over 40% of the users in the facility are guests. So while I’m not requesting a no guest weekend, I am asking that you be aware of the guest impact and plan accordingly. If you plan on bringing a guest in, please limit the number that you bring, bring them in early between 12-3, or at another time altogether. I don’t think most people realize when they are bringing in one or two guests that it’s really that big of an impact, but every other member using the facility is also bringing in one or two guests, and well, it starts to add up.

The situation I am trying to avoid is where such a large number of people are in the pool that we have to start turning people away at the doors. It’s been pretty close to that only a couple of times, but luckily things have ended up working out and I hope that streak continues.

Welcome to June! I want to thank those of you that are making a conscientious effort at taking that pre-swim shower before getting into the pool. It is appreciated, and again a health department regulation. It is the cumulative effects of many individuals taking showers, or not, that directly impact the water quality in the pool. Below is a photo of the pool filters that I took and posted on the club Facebook account last summer as a visual reminder to take that shower.

That’s a dirty filter on the left vs clean one on the right. Interestingly, during this past off-season I only had to clean the filters one time. For comparison, since the pool opened 2 weeks ago the filters have now been cleaned 3 times. And when the weather is hot and the pool is really busy, the filters can go from clean to dirty in a matter of hours, and need cleaning twice in the same day. Showering off the oil, dirt, and whatnot, really does make a difference! Thank you for soaping up!

Dates to remember

Early morning lap swim will start on Monday, June 1st and run Monday-Friday, 6-7am. Please remember to share those lanes! See “Life in the Lap Lane” below.

Swimming lesson registration for pool members will be happening this coming Wednesday, June 3rd from 6-8pm. The first day of lessons will begin Wednesday, June 18th.

A start date for Water Aerobics has been set! Mark your calendars for Monday, June 22nd. The class will run M, W, F 12-12:45 and T, Th 8-8:45am. Class fee for members is $4.00/class or $40 for a season pass.

We will be offering our internship program again this year. Sign up deadline is June 15th. Details about the program can be found at this link: http://wp.me/a5MiU8-4a

Life in the Lap Lane

Swim counterclockwise, staying to the right of the center of the line.

Turn in the middle of the lane at the wall and then move to the right.

Make sure you are in the correct lane. Your fast may be someone else’s slow, or vice versa.

If you are lapping people in the slower lane, consider moving to the faster lane.

If you are being lapped in the faster lane, consider moving to the slower lane.

Tap the toes of the swimmer in front of you if you would like to pass that person.

Understand that a toe tap is okay and allow that swimmer to move ahead of you.

If your toes have been tapped, stop at the wall and let that person pass. If you are the tapper, make sure there is a large gap between you and the next swimmer. Sometimes people can only go as fast as the person in front of them.

Leave the appropriate space between you and the swimmer in front of you, five seconds minimum.

If you must pull over or sit out a lap, move to the right side of the lane on the wall, so that you are out of the way of swimmers turning.

Be aware where others are in your lane.

Don’t push off right in front of someone about to turn.

Brush you teeth before early morning lap swim.

Driving and Parking

Remember that our swim club sits in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood. Please be considerate of our neighbors. Drive carefully and slowly. When leaving in the evening, please do so quietly.

On the days when we need it most our parking lot is often quite full. One option is to park along 80th next to U-Prep and walk up the gravel path along the east side of Dahl Field. Of course you can always park on the street by if you do so please remember to obey all parking regulations regarding intersections, driveways and fire hydrants.

Directory Cover Contest

Members between the ages 5‐18 are encouraged to submit art that will be used for the directory cover. Those selected will have their entries printed on either the front or back cover of the 2015 WW Pool Membership Directory.To enter:

Use an 8 1⁄2 by 11” white blank sheet of paper and fold it in half the hamburger way (landscape format folded in half)

Draw on one side of the paper. (The entry will be 81/2 high by 5” wide)

Use black ink and white paper.

Include the words: “Wedgwood Swim Pool Directory” and “2015” in your design.